This application claims benefit of Japanese Application No. Hei 11-295851 filed in Japan on Oct. 18, 1999 and Japanese Application No. 2000-44899 filed in Japan on Feb. 22, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated by this reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a barrier-attached camera having a barrier (lens barrier) movable to the open position at which photographing lens is exposed in the photographing position and to the closed position at which the foregoing photographing lens is covered in the storable position.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional barrier-attached camera, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3035911, is a camera employing a structure in which a barrier protecting front face of lens is locked at lens open position by an engaged locking pin to prevent an interference between a lens barrel and a barrier.
FIG. 22 is a transverse sectional view of the major portion surrounding lens barrel in a barrier locked state of the foregoing conventional barrier-attached camera. In FIG. 22, the lens barrel 101 is driven by motor M, and is located at photographable extending position. At that time, the barrier 104 is located in the open position, and is locked in the relevant open position by the engaged locking pin 110 in a projecting state. Therefore, when the foregoing lens barrel 101 is in a extending state, although the barrier 104 is pressed the direction P, it does not interfere with the lens barrel, so that it can prevent the lens barrel 101 from hindering the motion of moving forward and backward.
Consequently, when the lens barrel 101 is extended from the extending position into the storable position (collapsible barrel position), at its termination, it is moved backward by pressing the foregoing engaged locking pin 110 via the lens barrel flange position 101a, and the locked state of the barrier 104 is released. Once the locked state is released, the barrier 104 is movable to the closed position at which the barrier 104 covers the front face of the lens by sliding to D 10 direction.
However, in the case of a camera which is disclosed in the above described Japanese Patent No. 3035911, while contracting the lens barrel 101 into the storable position, if the barrier 104 is continued to be pressed to the direction P, since the engaged locking pin 110 is retained in a locked state, excess load acts on the contracting of lens barrel, and the power consumption of a motor is tremendous. Depending on the circumstances, abnormal force acts on the driving organization section and may result in destruction of it.
The present invention is performed to solve the problem of the above described discrepancy, and it is an objective of the present invention to provide a barrier-attached camera in which the contracting motion of lens barrel is not hindered by a barrier operation in a barrier-attached camera having a barrier movable to the open position and the closed position at which the lens barrel is opened and closed.
A barrier-attached camera of the present invention retains a camera body, a photographing lens, and has a lens barrel of photographing lens movable to optical axis direction of the above mentioned photographing lens, a barrier movable to an open position at which the above mentioned photographing lens is exposed and to an closed position at which the above mentioned lens is covered in a storable position, a locking member movable in optical axis direction of the above mentioned photographing lens for locking the above mentioned barrier so that the above mentioned barrier does not press nor contact the above mentioned lens barrel of photographing lens, a lock energizing member for energizing the above mentioned lock member to the direction of locking the above mentioned barrier, and a lock release energizing member to be provided on the above mentioned lens barrel of photographing lens, to move with the above mentioned lens barrel of photographing lens, and to push on the above mentioned lock member to the above mentioned storable position while the above mentioned lens barrel of photographing lens being moved to the above mentioned storable position, and when the above mentioned lens barrel of photographing lens is contracted into the storable position in a state where the above mentioned barrier is locked, the above mentioned lens barrel of photographing lens is smoothly contracted by the above mentioned lock release energizing member being deflected.
Other characteristics and benefit of the present invention will be apparent with the following description.